Simulation study on the thermal effect of continuous laser heating quartz materials.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optics and Photonics
• Thermal Physics

Background:

• High-power laser systems rely on optical components like quartz.
• Laser-induced photothermal effects in quartz at extreme temperatures are difficult to study experimentally.
• Understanding these thermal effects is crucial for laser system load capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the thermal effect of intense laser interaction with quartz materials.
• To explain the physical mechanisms behind laser heating of quartz.
• To develop a method applicable to other non-transparent materials.

Main Methods:

• Established a 3D quarter-symmetric laser heating quartz model.
• Utilized a nonlinear transient finite element method for analysis.
• Investigated transient temperature field distribution under continuous laser heating.

Main Results:

• Simulated transient temperature field distribution for quartz heated by a 1,064 nm laser.
• Analyzed the influence of laser parameters (spot radius, heat flux, irradiation time) and material parameters (thickness, absorption rate).
• Observed a significant temperature hysteresis on the rear surface due to heat conduction.

Conclusions:

• Under specific conditions (20 W/cm², 10 cm spot, 600 s, 4 cm thickness), quartz temperature reached 940.18°C, below melting point.
• The finite element method provides a viable approach to study laser-material thermal interactions.
• The proposed method is adaptable for analyzing laser heating in other non-transparent materials.